Redhotjazz.com was a crown jewel of the early internet. Starting in the mid ’90s it made the offline discographies and biographies of early jazz available to the online public. It also hosted thousands of audio files donated by people who were digitizing their 78 RPM record collections, making many obscure recordings available for the first time. This all started long before Youtube and even before Wikipedia was much more than an idea.
We are duplicating the content of the Red Hot Jazz Archive from a snapshot saved in Archive.org’s Wayback Machine. Keeping with both the original intent and mission of Redhotjazz.org everything will be publicly available outside of our paywall. For ease of use we are improving each entry to meet the norms of the phone friendly modern internet.
The downloadable music files are mostly MP3s but some are in the ancient Real Audio (.ra) format. Rather than opening a new tab so you can stream or download them the Real Audio files will immediately download when you click them. Don’t be frightened. You don’t need Real Audio player to play them but they won’t work on Windows Media Player. We recommend the free and open source VLC player.
For more information read: About the Archive
Title Recording Date Recording Location Company What If I Do ? (Clarence Williams / Johnson) 12-6-1929 New York, New York Columbia 2087-D Wipe ‘Em Off (Clarence
The Original Memphis Five was founded in 1917 by Phil Napoleon and Frank Signorelli after playing in dance bands together at Coney Island in New York. They were one
The Hotel St. Regis was located at East 55th Street at the corner of Fifth Ave. in New York City. Also See: Lopez and Hamilton’s
Also See: Lopez and Hamilton’s Kings of Harmony Orchestra (1920) Vincent Lopez and His Hotel Pennsylvania Orchestra (1922-1924) Vincent Lopez and his Orchestra (1921-1961) Vincent
Hotel Pennsylvania was located at 7th Ave. between 32nd to 33rd Streets in New York City opposite the old Penn Station. The building still stands
One does not normally associate Vincent Lopez with Jazz, but at the outset of his career, he co-led with clarinetist Billy Hamilton a successful five-piece
John Sylvester and his Orchestra was another name for the Original Indiana Five. Some of the Gennett recordings were released under the name of John Sylvester
These titles are some of the most authentic White Jazz of the early twenties to be heard, and may be regarded as the avante garde
Title Recording Date Recording Location Company My Gal (Walter Melrose) 5-1925 Chicago, Illinois Autograph 623 Wolverine Blues (Jelly Roll Morton) 5-1925 Chicago, Illinois Autograph 623
Marion Hardy and his Alabamians were originally formed in Chicago, Illinois in the late 1920s. Cab Calloway fronted this band in 1929 at the Savoy
Jean Goldkette booked this orchestra under the direction of Owen A. Barlett at the Book-Cadillac Hotel. The hotel is still located at the corner of
Isham Jones Rainbo Orchestra, reflected the band’s engagement at Chicago’s famous dance palace, Fred Mann’s Rainbo Gardens which was located at the intersection of North
Ford Dabney (15 March 1883 – 21 June 1958), best-known as the composer of the evergreen ‘Shine’, led an interesting career. He owned a theatre
The Jean Goldkette Orchestra featured some of the best White Jazz musicians of the 1920s. According to almost all that saw them when they played live
Billy Murray (May 25, 1877 – August 17, 1954) , known in his heyday as “The Denver Nightingale,” was one of America’s best-selling recording artists
Some of these recordings appeared under the names The New Orleans Lucky Seven, or Bix Beiderbecke‘s Lucky Seven. Title Recording Date Recording Location Company At
In 1929, after suffering a nervous breakdown Bix Beiderbecke went back to his hometown of Davenport, Iowa to recover at his parents home. He returned to New
Right after quitting the Wolverines to join Jean Goldkette, Bix and three other members of the Wolverines teamed up with Frankie Trumbauer and Miff Mole of the Jean Goldkette Orchestra to record this session. This was the first
Title Recording Date Recording Location Company For No Reason at All in C (Frankie Trumbauer / Bix Beiderbecke) 5-13-1927 New York, New York Okeh 40871 Columbia 35667
Frankie Trumbauer had one of the most original and modern jazz bands of the 1920s and early 1930s. They were never that successful financially, which led Trumbauer to
While Bix was working for the Charley Straight Orchestra in 1925, he recorded this session with friends from the Jean Goldkette Orchestra at Gennett Studio, in Richmond Indiana. This was the
Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Daddy Change Your Mind (Wilson / Frank Guarente) 4-23-1929 New York, New York Okeh 41422 You Can’t Cheat A
The Travelers was a pseudonym for the The Dorsey Brothers Orchestra. Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Am I Blue? (Harry Akst / Grant Clarke) 4-3-1929
Title Recording Date Recording Location Company Lover, Come Back To Me Part 1 (Hammerstein II / Romberg) 4-3-1929 New York, New York Okeh 41223 Lover,
